Mr. George T. Carmichael was born on February 16, 1921 in Iuka Mississippi. He graduated from Iuka High School in 1950 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Michigan in 1950 with an MPH in Engineering and his MSE in Sanitary Engineering in 1951. He was commissioned as an officer (Commander) in the USPS in 1953 and was a reserve officer thereafter. He served during WWII in the U.S. Army Air Force (2nd Air Force) and as a Base Station Officer, 1st Lt. from 1943-1946.
His professional career after the war included: Mississippi State Board of Health (1954-1957); U.S. State Department, Institute of Inter-American Affairs (1952-1954), where he was assigned to Mexico and served as Consultant to the Ministry of Health of Mexico on all sanitary engineering matters; Chatham Co. Mosquito Control District, Director (1957-1963); Florida State Board of Health (1954-1957); and, the first director of New Orleans Mosquito Control Board, where he did the initial survey that led to the formation of the program (1964-1968). He was hired by the City's then Health Director, Dr. Rodney C. Jung, who was the New Orleans Mosquito Control Board Chairman for many years, making Mr. Carmichael the second mosquito control district director in the state. This organization is now the New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board (NOMTCB). His Assistant Director, Mr. Edgar S. Bordes Jr., succeeded him as only the second of three directors in the program's 45 year history.
Mr. Carmichael received the Meritorious Service Award from the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) in 1971 and was awarded the AMCA's Medal of Honor in 1984. He was a member of the AMCA and president of that organization in 1969. He also held membership in the mosquito control associations in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, California and the American Public Works Association. He was Secretary-Treasurer of the Louisiana Mosquito Association (LMCA) for many years, Vice President in 1976, and President in 1977. He also hosted the LMCA office at the NOMTCB headquarters for many years, which was under the direction of Dr. Edward S. Hathaway until Mr. Hathaway left LMCA. He was an early recipient of the LMCA's Hathaway-Ritter Award. He was a tireless worker for the expansion of mosquito control in Louisiana.
Mr. Carmichael published several scientific articles and was a malaria control consultant in Pakistan, Haiti, India, El Salvador, several public organizations and served as a member of the "Advisory Committee on Encephalitis" for the Florida State Board of Health for five years (1963-1968).
Upon retiring, Mr. Carmichael and his wife, Cleo, moved to Knoxville, TN to be close to family. There, he enjoyed fishing, playing tennis, and officiating AAU tennis matches.
Author -Â Michael K. Carroll
New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control, Director